Taos, New Mexico Magnet

Taos, (rhymes with 'mouse'), New Mexico, altitude is about 7,000 ft (2,130 m), between the Rio Grande and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.; Spanish explorers entered Taos in 1540 by a faction of Coronado's explorers. Taos was established in about 1615 as Fernandez de Taos. French and American fur trappers and explorers came in the late 1700s, and American merchants and settlers arrived on the Santa Fe Trail in the 1800s. In an area of pueblos and scenic beauty, Taos developed as an art colony (principally after 1898) and attracted many painters and writers, notably John Marin and D. H. Lawrence. Today, as in the past, Taos is a mecca for a wide range of people who are attracted by its mystique, unique heritage, historical significance, and beauty. Here, one will find people of notable celebrity, too, living as residents of one of the most majestic places in North America. One of the finest ski areas in the U.S. is located here.